Poll: Bush's Second-Term Rating Lags Behind Others
Note: 1957-1985 results from Gallup Poll Pew Research Center for the People and the Press hide caption
President Bush's public approval rating lags those of other recent second-term presidents, a new pre-inaugural poll shows. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
Bush begins his second term with a 50 percent approval rating -- well below the support enjoyed by Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and Clinton at the start of their second terms, Kohut says.
The poll also shows differences between the concerns of Republicans and Democrats over key policy issues. For example, 81 percent of Democrats rate providing health insurance for the uninsured as a top priority, compared with just 35 percent of Republicans.